The fifth phase of the Government of India's "Vande Bharat" mission, that aims to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in various foreign countries due to restrictions on air travel in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, will begin early next month, August 1.

Air India said in a statement, ""Under Vande Bharat Mission, we have already brought back more than 2.5 lakh stranded Indians from 53 commies," adding, "We will be soon announcing a host of additional flights under Vande Bharat Mission Phase 5 starting from 1st August 2020".

Meanwhile, flights for the United States, Canada, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Australia, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, New Zealand, Philippines and several other countries have been planned under the fifth phase.

The government started the Vande Bharat Mission on May 7. Presently, the mission is in its fourth phase. The MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "During the fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission, 1197 flights have been scheduled so far including 945 international flights and 252 feeder flights".